By Ken Keis
Personal Style or Temperament
does NOT link
to occupational choices or success!
Occupations and Personal Style
Many individuals and professionals attempt to linkoccupational suggestions to each style/typedimension.
I don’t agree with that process.
- Style does not predict success in an occupation.
- Style compatibility applies only to a specific role or position that needs to be filled.
- Jobs that our children will enjoy in the future have not been invented yet!
Contrary to many HR professionals and career developers, I do not subscribe to Standard Industry Codes (SIC), National Occupational Codes (NOC), or any other fixed list of careers or roles from which individuals may attempt to determine a career based on their type or temperament.
Too many combinations and possibilities are not included in most “career interest” inventories. Style should be used to outline the qualities and characteristics required of a specific job opportunity and to confirm style compatibility, which is a very powerful and practical application. Personal Style, however, does not measure interests, gifts, talents, or your natural intelligence.
Temperament or style patterns should NEVER be used to determine
a career path or the occupation that will best suit you.
For example, there are no SIC or NOC codes for my personal career. Many “interest” inventories tell me I should be president of a company—but where and doing what? Should I be running a manufacturing plant, a farm, a school? I lead a publishing company, certify and train professionals around the globe, and write content and resources that change people’s lives. That profile usually is not on any interest inventory.
Career guides can help you consider a career direction. But they are only thought-starters, not ends in themselves.
A friend got a list of 650 career suggestions
after completing an MBTI assessment that was not helpful.
One of the career assessments I completed years ago measured my interests and skills compared to other people in specific careers or positions, such as a bank manager or insurance agent. The career assessment then listed professions where I had the most similarity of interests and skills with individuals already working in that profession.
It seemed like a good idea at the time but, if 80% of individuals dislike their jobs—from a feeling of mild irritation to downright loathing—that means I am similar to the 80% of people who don’t like their work and who are not living on purpose.
In the past couple of decades, technology has transformed the world of work and the nature of opportunities. Today, an auto mechanic needs strong IT abilities or an electronic orientation. Just a few years ago, the focus was mechanicalonly.
No occupation can be defined by a single style or style pattern.
If I mention accounting or finance as a profession, you may immediately think a Cognitive ANALYSIS Cs are best for the position. In reality, several disciplines are necessary for success in accounting and finance. For example, management accounting, mergers, and acquisitions require the strategic nature of a BehavioralACTIONstyle. I worked with a CFO (Chief Financial Officer who also was a CPA) of a very large insurance agency who had a Behavioral ACTION and Affective EXPRESSIVE stylepattern with a low score in his Cognitive ANALYSIS dimension. This means he had little style orientation towards attention to fine details which most would expect for an accountant. His job role required strategic and creative approaches to expand, leverage, and invest on behalf of the firm.
Prejudging that certain professions or careers are suited to a specific style
is a dangerous and damaging practice.
You should be using your core values (others if you are hiring them) as a filter to confirm that a job opportunity aligns with your core values. If you don’t know what your values are there is a chapter in my bookWhy Aren’t You More Like Me?™ that covers this topic or access our online Values Preference Indicator assessment to find out your core values.
Before I entered the professional development profession, I always selected positions with a lot of freedom and flexibility. Even as a teenager, I had a sense—more unconscious than intentional—that unless independence was part of a position, I simply could not function. That assisted me to work in the right job style.
Given the information you have gathered so far, you can progress to a place where your job/career will pick you, not the other way around.
When you (or the person you are hiring) are clear about the work style of the right position for you and you are aware of your core values, when the right opportunity crosses your path you’ll know that you know that is the place for you! It also will be obvious which jobs or opportunities do not fit you—you simply will no longer be interested in them.
Ken Keis is considered a global authority on the way assessment strategies increase and multiply your success rate. In 24 years, he has conducted more than 2500 presentations and 10,000 hours of consulting and coaching. Author of Why Aren’t You More Like Me? Discover the Secrets to Understanding Yourself and Others™, Ken has co-created CRG’s proprietary development models and written over 3.5 million words of content for 40 business training programs and 400+ articles. Ken’s expertise includes assisting individuals, families, teams, and organizations to realize their full potentialand to liveOn Purpose! Contact Ken at 604 852-0566 and . To order the book, visit